Chapter 4

With that, I tilted my head back and drank it down. The first bottle went empty, and I set it aside and picked up the second.

Silas finally reached out. "That's enough."

I dodged his hand. "Isn't this what you people brought me here to do—drink?"

"Who told you to drink like that?"

By the time the second bottle was gone, my stomach had started to burn.

I opened a new bottle and pushed it in front of Gail. "Here."

Her smile faded a little. "Drinking that fast? I... I..."

I leaned back in my chair. "If you can't handle it, then go."

The people around us started egging her on again. "Gail, come on! His wife's already had two bottles."

Gail could actually hold her liquor. She got through a bottle, and aside from her face turning redder, she didn't try to weasel out of it.

She set the bottle down, and right away the crowd showered her with praise.

It grated on me, so I opened three more. This time Gail's expression finally changed.

"Sis, still drinking?"

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted a drink?"

I picked up a bottle and kept going. Halfway through, my stomach began to hurt.

I paused for a few seconds, and Silas thought I couldn't take any more.

"That's enough, no one's forcing you, don't push yourself."

I clenched my fist. The pain cleared my head a little, and I finished the rest.

I lifted my chin. "You drink half a bottle."

Gail sat there pressing her stomach without moving, and Silas got worked up first.

"Joyce, is this fun for you? Gail's already drunk a whole bottle with you, and she has a bad stomach."

The bad stomach again. I nodded. "Well, my stomach's just fine."

But Gail picked up the bottle. "It's okay, Silas. If Sis wants to drink, I'll keep her company."

She tilted her head back and drank half the bottle.

When she finished, she slumped back in her chair, clearly very unwell.

Silas immediately poured her a glass of warm water. "Slow down."

I looked down at the empty bottle in front of me.

I'd drunk three bottles, and no one had asked me a single word.

She'd drunk one and a half, and warm water was already at her hand.

Silas turned to look at me. "How about we go one glass at a time? Gail isn't used to drinking like this. She's already had a bottle and a half with you—don't bully her."

I laughed.

I drank three bottles, and in the end I was the one bullying her.

"Fine, glasses, is it?"

I took a glass and didn't stop after three, straight through to the tenth, before I finally turned it upside down on the table.

My stomach was hurting badly now. I leaned back on the sofa and barely lifted my eyelids. "Your turn."

Take eight hundred of the enemy, lose a thousand of your own.

This kind of fighting is what I'm best at.

As long as I can make the other person miserable, I feel great.

Gail clearly didn't want to drink anymore, but with so many people watching, she had no choice but to pick up the glass.

After the first glass, her face went pale.

She was only halfway through the second when she suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth, rushed to the trash can, and threw up.

The private room erupted into chaos. "Gail!"

"Go get water!"

"Go get napkins!"

I held a piece of ice in my mouth and leaned back on the sofa, watching.

Say what you will—her throwing up sobered me up quite a bit.

Silas rushed over first, crouched beside her, and patted her back. "Is your stomach hurting again?"

Gail's eyes welled with tears. "A little."

Silas's voice was full of tenderness. "I told you a long time ago not to drink like that."

I listened, and I laughed. He whipped around and glared at me. "You're still laughing?"

I chewed on the ice cube. "What else? Should I cry?"

Silas's face went livid. He was about to come at me when Gail gagged twice more.

Right away he had no thought for me.

I closed my eyes and rested for a while. Not long after, I heard Gail ask.

"Silas, I remember you said before that I look a bit like your ex-girlfriend. Is that right?"

Silas seemed caught off guard that she'd bring it up out of nowhere. "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Just curious."

Gail had had too much to drink, and she'd clearly gotten a lot bolder.

"You're so good to me, sometimes I even wonder if it's because I look like her, so you've got improper ideas about me."

"How could that be?"

Silas denied it fast, but there wasn't much anger in his voice.

Gail smiled. "I've seen her photos. She's really beautiful."

She cocked her head. "So tell me, am I better, or is your ex-girlfriend better?"

Silas didn't answer.

Then Gail seemed to remember something.

"Oh no, your girlfriend's still here. She won't be angry, will she?"

My eyes snapped open. These two really had lost their minds.

My stomach was burning something awful. I let out a rough breath and smiled. "No, she won't."

The two of them looked over at me. I stared at Silas and picked up their topic.

"His ex-girlfriend really was great. Someone that good, and you couldn't even hold onto her. How useless does that make you?"

Silas's face darkened. "Joyce."

I waved a hand. "You couldn't keep your ex, and now your current girlfriend's about to be gone too. You finally landed yourself a Capybara, so you'd better protect her. You—rough fate, born to bring ruin to everyone around you."

Silas shot to his feet. "Are you sick in the head?"

He was genuinely angry now. He'd taken two steps toward me when Gail suddenly clutched her stomach and coughed.

"Silas..."

Two words, and Silas's steps stopped instantly.

He turned back. "What is it?"

"My stomach hurts."

Gail's eyes brimmed with tears, and Silas didn't care about anything else. He bent down and scooped her up.

"I'll take you to the hospital."

The few people nearby quickly stood up too.

Gail nestled in his arms, and before they left she didn't forget to glance at me. "Aren't we bringing Sis?"

I looked at Silas too. For just that one instant, I really did want to hear what he'd say.

Silas barely hesitated. "She didn't drink much. I'll get you there first."

I looked down at the empty bottles at my feet and suddenly laughed.

Fine. Good.

The whole crowd went rushing out, and only at the door did Silas seem to finally remember me.

"Take a taxi home yourself."

The door closed, and the room fell quiet at once.

I sat there a while, and my stomach hurt more and more.

It really did hurt.

I watched their backs and gave a cold laugh. If I said nothing, I'd feel wretched inside; if I said something, I'd look too petty.

Forget it, Silas. We're over.